Confessions of a Not-So-Dangerous Mind*

Legendary TV, theater, and movie actor Tim Curry passed away yesterday. Join me for a look back at some of his most memorable roles and performances.

Singer, actress, and humanitarian Dolly Parton passed away today. Sharing thoughts and memories about this legendary entertainer may be the best thing we can do right now 😔

Rob Reiner's magnificent period coming-of-age story Stand by Me remains one of the best movies of its kind ever made. 

Tommy John passed away last week. The first man to undergo the career-saving elbow surgery which bears his name was more than just a courageous trailblazer, he was one of the finest pitchers of his era.

Released August 15, 1997, CopLand marks Sylvester Stallone's return to 70s-era acting. While the film is a boxoffice success, the critical reaction is muted at best. Sly is solid, DeNiro makes the most of limited screen time, and the late Ray Liotta delivers a signature performance as coked-out cop Gary Figgis, whose moral center compels him to have the back of Sly's Sheriff Freddy Heflin, no matter the cost.

"June 19, 2005. SUNY New Paltz Commencement Exercises for the Class of '05. Actor Aidan Quinn's keynote address doesn't exactly go over well with the assembled throng."

James Cameron's spectacular underwater scifi thriller The Abyss opened 37 years ago. The version seen by audiences of the day was not the one intended by its director. Join me for the story of a legit masterpiece that was lost... and then found.

"Fall, 1995. I see the Stallone film 'Assassins' with my crush on its opening day... only to discover that she's more into the star of the movie than me." 😭🤣

Buckle in for a humorous story about British acting legend Trevor Howard.
Favorite movie in which he stars: Brief Encounter (1945). Favorite movie in support: Superman 1978, he plays a Kryptonian elder.
(Trevor Howard, 1913-1988)

The ongoing debate over the casting of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey reminds me of two notorious (yet historically important) films: D.W. Griffith's silent epic The Birth of a Nation, and the inexplicable casting of John Wayne as Genghis Khan in The Conqueror (1956).